RSPB car park hope for site

MARSHSIDE’S defunct sandwinning plant could be replaced by a car park for birdwatchers.

Councillor Tom Glover told the Midweek Visiter a facility for visitors to the nearby RSPB reserve would be “the obvious use for the site”, once clean-up operations have been completed by the sandwinning company, William Rainford Ltd.

But the Conservative member for Cambridge ward said there were no current plans by the council to build a car park there, not least because finance for the project - which would “cost a great deal of money” - is currently unavailable.

“Once the remains of the plant have been removed, the car park will form a proposal which we will present,” said Cllr Glover.

He continued that restoring the site after the plant ceased operations is a condition of the company’s lease from the council, and this would take “a few months or even a year”.

“The site should be clear for further development or an additional car park by next winter’s season of migrating birds,” said Cllr Glover, who has been on the council sub-committee negotiating with Rainford’s for the past two years.

Cllr Glover also said he hoped the end of sandwinning would bring environmental benefits to the local coastline.

“There has been the argument in some quarters that sandwinning on our beach encouraged the vegetation to grow, but this has never been proved.

“Over the last ten years we have gone from having eight miles of golden beach to parts of it being overgrown by grasses of various types.”

A spokesman from Sefton Council said: “We have had preliminary discussions with the RSPB about the site but nothing has been formally agreed as of yet.”

No-one from Rainford’s was available to comment on the progress of cleaning up at the site at the time of going to press.